Two questions;
For the terms of wielding for rods, does it have to be in hand or simply need to be on the person?
For the Suzerain Scepter it says the wielder can attract double the normal of followers, and notes that if it leaves the wielder's possession for more than a week extra followers will leave.
It seems unlikely that you'd have to hold the rod constantly to gain all the different effects.
For items that have magic storage properties, would storing in an item like an Endless Bandolier's pockets be considered leaving the possession of the character ?
Metamagic rods must be held in hand to give any benefit. Not sure if there is a general rule that would include other sorts of rods, but I would suspect that nearly all of them require having the rod in hand.
The Rod of Spellsight seems like it should go one of two ways: either you can just have it stowed on your person, or you not only need to have it in hand, but you need to be looking through it like a telescope.
The Suzerain Scepter seems like a historical rod of office: it's something you would carry and have in hand while in court or perhaps even on the battlefield, but you wouldn't have to be holding it when you went to bed, to dinner, to take a dump and so on.
By a strict reading of RAW, however...
Activation: Details relating to rod use vary from item to item. Unless noted otherwise, you must be holding a rod to use its abilities . See the individual descriptions for specifics.
Neither of these sample rods says anything about not needing to hold it in hand, so the defauly assumption is that you do.